Oct 19, 2010

If you don't like getting your hands dirty, then this is not for you! I didn't grow up eating traditional sloppy joes as a kid, the closest thing that came to a Sloppy Joe in my house was picadillo on a roll (which is quite good by the way) so when I got a recipe request for a low fat Sloppy Joe, I had to do some research.

I found Rachel Ray's Sloppy Joe recipe that was rated 5 stars with rave reviews, so I knew this was a great place to start. I used lean beef and added more veggies to make this lower in fat. Serve it on crusty whole wheat rolls or low point buns (extra points). Enjoy your sandwich and have plenty of napkins on hand!

Chop all the vegetables really fine, using a chopper or food processor.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat to the pan and break it up as it cooks. Season with steak seasoning and cook the meat until it browns, then add onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and add red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, cook 5 more minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan, stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook an additional 5 minutes. Using a measuring cup, pile 1/2 cup of sloppy meat onto toasted buns.

I've never made the sauce from scratch, always just used the canned stuff...but I am very willing to give this recipe a try. I always use ground turkey and besides adding red pepper, I also add shredded carrots and chopped up zucchini to mine. You can't believe how good the zucchini is in it!

Rachael Ray's Super Sloppy Joe recipe is my go to recipe for sure! I see that you took out the sugar, did you substitute a carrot for the sugar? My family particularly likes Rachael's recipe due to the sweetness.

My mom has an old recipe that includes sugar as well. I think the sweetness really makes this receipe. I would recommend adding it back in since it's supposed to be savory and sweet. I, too, use ground turkey to lower the fat and it's great.

Well I made this tonight and I am so sad we weren't huge fans of it! My husband and I haven't had sloppy joes for probably twenty years so we weren't really sure what it should taste like but I guess it just wasn't what we were expecting! I added some sugar to it and it still didn't do the trick and I followed it all to the t. We served it on one point burger buns. I think for the leftovers I am going to add some beans and make it somewhat like a chili! Thanks for all your great recipes! Out of the over 30 I have now tried this is the first that wasn't a five star in our books! :)

Hi Gina, I discovered your site last week and have been making recipes from it weekly. I'm definitely not a cook but with your recipes I've been impressing the family! I made the sloppy joes tonight and they were so delicious. I have a very picky 2 year old and husband (who will not eat veggies) and even he really loved these! I did add just a half packet of equal for some sweetness because I prefer that but it definitely tastes as delicious w/out as well. Thanks for all the work you put into these recipes that allow us to eat with the whole family while being on WW :)

I have not made this yet but I make one my mom always used. It calls for Ketchup, brown sugar (I use the splenda variety), mustard, Worcestershire sauce and a few other seasonings. MMMMM, I might try this version soon.

I love recipes like this for my classroom, as well. This is just the kind of meal that kids love to make and eat. The nutritious component is critical and I appreciate your hard work. This is a keeper and going into my grade 9 until.:)valerie

You read my mind! My husband suggested the other day that he'd like to have some sloppy joes soon, and I instantly cringed because I wasn't sure how to make them WW friendly! Thank you so much and I can't wait to try these!

When I plugged in this into WW recipe builder, it tells me that for 8 servings it would be 3 points each (no counting the bun). I noticed that you list as 7 servings for 2 points. I did specifically list 1.25 pounds of raw 93% lean ground beef. When I listed raw ground sirloin, it was 4 points.

For me, 3 points is still great, but not sure what could be different.

As a ww member I love trying new recipes and be able to stick to my point range. I made the sloppy joes and they are absolutely delicious! I love putting the fresh minced vegies in it for more nutrional value. I just came across this web site while looking for new wt watchers recipes.I too, substituted ground turkey for the meat. I will definately let everyone in my meeting know about your wonderful website!

As a new member to WW, I've been checking out your site - and this is the first recipe I've actually made. I think it tastes great. I used two handfuls of baby carrots, as that's what I had on hand. Threw all veggies in to the food processor and it was so easy. It was plenty sweet w/out any added sugar and tasted better than any pre-made sloppy joe I've ever had. Will def make again, and maybe try with turkey the next time. Planning on making the roasted acorn squash with this for dinner!

You mention that you serve these with whole wheat buns but if I choose to use 1 point buns, then it'll create extra points. Does this mean that it's 2 points with the meat and the whole wheat bun? If that's the case, that is absolutely awesome! If not, 3 points is still not bad at all for this.

Gina,I made this for dinner last night, served with 1 pt bund, and it was a hit with all four of us! My husband and I ate the leftovers for lunch today, just in bowls. I thought the flavoring was perfect the way you've done it! Thank you for spoiling us with all these delicious recipes.Margaret

Hi there,I am the one who emailed you to request a sloppy joe recipe. I can not believe how fast you replied and you actually found one! Thank you! This recipe was AMAZING! Our small group devoured them. Thank you for all that you do!

GINA! I feel so lucky to have found your website!!!!! I have tried several of your recipes and they are all great! My husband and I especially loved this one! It was so good in a wrap with cheddar cheese! And very low in points!

Just made this tonight and it was fantastic! So simple and so tasty! My husband had a huge high calorie toasted bun, and I ate mine on a 1 pt bun. I can't believe how filling this 3 pt dinner was! Gina has done it again! Thank you!!!! Thanks to you I have lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks - 8 more to go! :-)

I made this the other day, on my day off. I then put it in the crockpot, and into the fridge for the next day. I came home yesterday after a 12 hour shift, to this simmering in the crockpot....thick, flavorful, and the house smelling wonderful! My entire family LOVED it.

And I love the pictures. It is so nice when my recipe comes out just like the picture!!

Great idea heating this in the crock pot. All food photographed is consumed by me and my family, unlike food you see in magazines, which use all sorts of food photo tricks. I agree, it's nice to see your food cone out like the photo!

This was SO GOOD! I made these last week and they are my new favorite! The recipe is perfect as is and I couldn't believe how low in points it was with a 1 pt bun. Very delicious and filling. Thank you so much for this recipe!

This is the first time I have made sloppy joes from scratch. I always just use Manwich for a quick weeknight meal. While this recipe wasn't quick (I'll use the food processor next time), it was so good, I'll never be able to stomach Manwich again. Thank you Gina, for this wonderful recipe.

i just made this and im eating right now, really good! i followed your recipe except for adding the mushrooms since i dont care for them. i also felt it was missing some sweetness so at the end i just added 2 tbsp of brown sugar twin and it did the trick without adding extra points. another keeper for my menu rotation!

Made this for dinner last night. Used two carrots, two celery, a zucchini, a red pepper and mushrooms. I thought it was really good but the son did not like it. So tonight I am going to use the leftovers in a stuffed pepper with a little cheese on top.

Awesome recipe! Wanted to share a slight alteration I made that really jazzed this up, for those who appreciate a little extra spiciness over the tomato-sauce flavor.

Pour your first cup of tomato sauce into a 4 cup measuring cup. Then instead of a second cup of tomato sauce, add a small can of adobo sauce (sans chipotles if you can find it, since they can be SO SPICY), and then add barbecue sauce of your choice up to the 2 cup mark. It's great!

Lastly, the recipe calls for garlic but doesn't mention when to add. I just add it at the same time as the other vegetables. Works great.

Made this tonight as a go to meal for the week, already portioned up for dinner and lunches. It's really good. I only had 1 lb of ground beef, so I chopped an extra carrot, used a whole red pepper and a few extra mushrooms. Still came out to seven servings :)

I am a big fan of sloppy joe's and do like them a little sweet. I did not miss sugar at all in this recipe - I thought they were perfect! It was a delicious, filling meal. I served them with your sweet potato fries and a salad - another great Skinny meal - thanks Gina!

I LOVE these sloppy joes! I make them EVERY Sunday for "Sloppy Joe Sunday." Thank you so much for all of your wonderful recipes and taking the time to post so often. You and your website are very much appreciated!

I dont normally enjoy sloppy joes, but my husband LOVES them, so I caved and made this. And I am now a sloppy joes fan!!! And my husband gave it an A+. So far, he has rated all of your recipes as EXCELLENT. And he usually gives my cooking a "yeah, it was okay". YAY

Gina, have I mentioned that you are amazing?? I love sooo many of your recipes. I have been cooking your foods for months..I just joined WW this week. I'm even more inspired to cook than ever before! This was great!!

Gina - I made these last week and am already planning when it's too soon to make them again because it's all I've been thinking about!! So so so good! Thank you so much for posting such great recipes!!!

Hi Gina! This is actually the third or fourth time I've made these skinny sloppy joes. I used to LOVE Rachael Ray's recipe, but I actually found that I PREFER your remake with all the added veggies to the original version! It adds an extra depth of flavor, not to mention so much healthier. The only thing I do different is use zucchini instead of mushrooms (I can't stand them), and add a packet of Splenda for a little extra sweetness. Served on a 1-point bun, even my hubby loves them and requests them often!

Hi Everyone! We are huge Skinny Taste fans at our house and one comfort food we love is sloppy joes. We found this to be a little sweet so we were surprised that people added sugar, although to be fair in my mom's recipe she added brown sugar. I'm not sure if adding mustard is a mid-west thing, but my family thought it lacked the balance of flavors we were used to so we added yellow mustard. I HIGHLY suggest you try it that way! What a difference! Soooo yummy :)

I've been following your blog for quite some time now and LOVE it! I recently started my own healthy recipe blog to help my clients (I'm a nutrition/health/fitness coach) and I am happy to report, and wanted to let you know, that I'll be featuring this very recipe tomorrow on my blog (www.mimisfitfoods.com). My husband and I loved it and I think several of my readers will too! Thanks for sharing!

I will be honest and say that I hate traditional sloppy joes. I hate everything about them, and have since I was a kid. My husband always wanted me to make them, but I flat refused. YUCK! Until now....

I realized the other night that I didn't have ALL ingredients for any of the recipes I had planned to make. My friend told me about this site, so I decided to have a look.. As I was going through, I saw the Skinny Sloppy Joe recipe and couldn't help but wonder what was in it. After reading the ingredients, I realized #1 I had all of the ingredients for it and #2 the recipe didn't sound like traditional sloppy joes. Why not try it, right? Right.

Oh wow! It was so good! It's spicy and... magic in my mouth. I was completely shocked at how good it was (and spicy!) NOTHING like traditional sloppy joes, other than it being sloppy :) Definitely a keeper. My husband is a happy man.

*Next time, I think I'm going to throw a zucchini into the mix and see how that goes.

My son, husband, and I loved these! My daughter wasn't a fan (she is resistant to new things) but a little extra catsup and she was fine. I can't believe they didn't cotton on to the hidden veggies, that is genius! Thanks for all the recipes, Gina. I have pumpkin chili made for lunches this week, and at least 3 main and side dishes are on the menu for the week. WW is certainly easier now that I have found your blog!!!

I made this last night along with the Low Fat Baked Onion Rings. I know you have so many people telling you how amazing your recipes are, but I have to tell you as well! My 2 year old- who typically has no interest in eating, cleaned his plate! My husband (a HUGE Sloppy Joe and Onion Ring connoisseur)raved about them both. He said and I quote: "These sloppy joe's are incredible! Much better than that junk in a can!" Ha! So, five stars from our family. You have had us eating well this whole week--most to which my husband said you would think you got 5 star restaurant! Thanks again, you're the best!

This recipe looks great! So are you saying you started with 1.25 lbs raw meat or you cooked the meat and ended up with 1.25 lbs? If the latter is is the case, how much raw meat did you start with?Thanks! Can't wait to make it :-)

Made this tonight and it was a hit with my whole family! My husband said it was the best sloppy joe he ever had. Both of my kids (8 and 5) liked it, which surprised me because they are picky! My 5 year old had seconds! Great recipe

I followed this recipe to the letter but did not have tomato paste. It was terrible. Could the paste have made that big of a difference??? It was so bitter that I had to add brown sugar, honey and bbq sauce just to make it palatable. Of course that had to have added 100's of calories so it was skinny no more. This one will not go in my recipe box!

I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. I was tempted to add mustard because I use it in my normal recipe but I didn't, and I didn't miss it. It was a hit with my family. I served it on 100 calorie flat buns. I will be making this one again...soon!

I followed the recipe exactly! I decided to make it and then throw it in the crock pot for when I get home today, but I just tried a little bite when it was done cooking on the stove and WOWOWOWOWOW. My fiancee just tried a bite, and he gives it an "8 of 10" and he "can't really taste the veggies" (which is a good thing for him) and when I ask him what made it an "8" instead of a "10", he said "it's not as beastly as other sloppy joes, it could be a little more saucy" whatever that means LMAO, but it is definitely a hit.

My husband is a Sloppy Joe snob. I was nervous about this one. SO GOOD! I actually made it with 96% lean beef (b/c that's what I had on hand) and it was still delicious. I made dinner start to finish in 25 mins!

I just made this recipe-- I am used to a less healthy version, with ketchup but I honestly could not tell the difference.I used one whole onion and green pepper as veggies and added a tbsp of brown sugar. I served it over rigatoni and it was great! I live by myself so had some for dinner and bringing the rest to work for lunch- YUM!!

Gina -I wanted to let you know this is one of our family's all-time favorite meals now, and we have been having it at least every other week for these cold winter months! Every time I make it, my husband sits down, takes his first bite, breathes a sigh of pleasure, and his eyes light up. I know how he feels because I'm sure mine do too! I have never before liked sloppy joes but they were always the ketchup-laden kind I'd had, I suppose. My two year old gobbles it up and my 10 month old cries for more. Comfort food that couldn't get better - or better for you! Thanks for all your great recipes!

Hi Gina. I just wanted to give you a BIG KUDOS for this recipe. Made it tonight with ground turkey and this is BY FAR the best sloppy joe recipe Ive EVER HAD!!!! Delicious!!! Thanks for sharing your passion with all of us!

I am not a sloppy joe fan, but my husband is. I made these last night and I loved them. My husband (who is a landscape foreman - crazy hours - heavy duty work) ate 4 sandwiches in one sitting - I think it's safe to say that he liked them. Of course he can get away with it since he's the tall and thin built - can eat whatever he wants and still lose weight. I don't know what we'll do if we ever have kids - he'll never leave enough food for them! Thanks for a wonderful meal!

THIS WAS EXCELLENT!! My 8 year old loves sloppy joe's and I am always trying to cook healthy nutritious meals. HUGE hit, not only did I love it, my 8 year old loved it said is was the best she had ever had :) and my 2 year old asked for seconds. THANK YOU!!! Only thing I did different was a used a no added sodium tomato paste and sauce and a low sodium steak seasoning.

Made this tonight and it was great! I didn't have carrots or red wine vinegar though so I substituted with a little apple cider vinegar for the vinegar and a little sweet for the carrots. We also put spoonfuls on little dinner rolls and made "sliders". Definitely will do again!

These were awesome. Though, I didn't follow the directions.. but only b/c I know I bought a big can of tomato sauce, but I couldn't find it when I went to make these. So I'm guessing it's either in the husbands truck or left at the store :( so I decided to use some ketchup (I had a small amt of sauce), well I ran out of ketchup, so I improvised with bbq sauce! And used the last bit in that bottle to finish! They were great. I'm sure way more points than if I'd have used that sauce. Next time I will make them by the directions.... hopefully that can of tomato sauce won't elude me.

made these last night and then had another for breakfast! :) they were sooo good and it made me feel so happy adding in all those veggies. my hubby doesnt like sloppy joes or tomatoes so they werent his favorite and i added the 2tbsp of brown sugar to hide the tomato flavor. but i'll definitely be making these for myself for to pack for lunch!

All I can say is WOW! I made this last night for my wife and I and she wanted a 2nd serving. I'm not a fan of mushrooms, so I omitted those but I added a tsp of chili powder to give it just a little more flavor. This was absolutely delicious. Highly recommend this to anyone looking to make healthy Sloppy Joes for themselves or the family.

This recipe was amazing. I was kind of hesitant since I dont like the can or the mixes for sloppy joes, maybe because I dont like the sweetness of the can or mix. I did not add the carrots which I read later was for the sweetness to subsitute for the suger. I am glad I skipped that ingred. b/c this was amazing, it will now be part of our monthly dinner menu!! Thank you

Thank you SO much for this wonderful site! I get so many recipes from here and it has been immensely helpful in meal planning and helping me stick to plan. The hardest part for me is meal ideas, and your blog is a goldmine! I really really appreciate all the hard work you do! Made these sloppy joes tonight, and they were wonderful! Will add them to our menu rotation just as many other of your recipes have been! Thanks so much!

I dont know. Usually I love your recipes that i've tried on here, but i'm unsure about this one. I think sloppy joes should be more... bbq-y. This one tasted like more of a meat sauce to be served over pasta. I'm disappointed. I'm a 22 year old poor college student and I cook two meals for myself and my boyfriend to last the entire week, now I feel like we have a bunk meal to deal with for the rest of the week. I had to add bbq sauce and sriracha just to make it taste like an actual sloppy joe and now it's just like .. what was the point, it's not healthy anymore. Ugh.

Do you have a crockpot? If so, get a chuck roast and buy the BBQ Pulled Pork Slow Cooker packet. It makes a whole lot of bbq beef for only 5pp per 1/4cp...and it lasts the week. Might be a more affordable alternative.

We are big fans of a sloppy joe in this house. I tweaked the recipe a bit and everyone enjoyed it! I used a package of ground chicken , two carrots, a zucchini, a package of sliced mushrooms, a small onion, and a bell pepper ( all minced in the food processor.). I added all the same seasoning as the above but also added two packets of Splenda. It was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. The kiddies had no idea I slipped them all those veggies either.

Gina - I see many have opted to use ground turkey vs. the beef - would the WW points be the same? Looks awesome and a great comfort food during these winter months! LOVE your site - keep up the great work and kudos for your recognition for the awesome work you offer and great WW recipes

College student review:This recipe was cheap, easy and quick. Not only that, but it turned out better than I expected! I added a little bit of brown sugar just because of what other people said. Use white wine vinegar instead of red and a green pepper vs red due to what was on hand. All on some rye break

Oh my goodness! Delicious! My hubby and daughter ate theirs on a potato roll and I had mine on an Arnold whole wheat sandwich thin with spinach. They both loved them! I told my daughter what was in it and she ( who hates mushrooms) told me to make it again.

I made these for the second time last night. They are so good. I paired it with your skinny potato salad (like Rachel Ray does) and dinner was fantastic. I doubled the batch so that I can freeze some for lunches. I read a neat trick of putting the leftovers in a muffin tin and freezing. Then you can transfer to a freezer back when frozen. One tin equals one sandwich. :)

I made this last night for the first time. My husband went for seconds, didn't even know it was healthy! I made mine with turkey cayenne pepper for some spice. We are having leftovers tonight for sure!! Thank you for this amazing recipe.

So delicious! Made this the other night and my husband and I loved it! Followed the recipe and added a little brown sugar as some others have suggested to give it that slightly sweet and savory flavor. This will be going into the rotation. Thanks! : )

I made this last night and both my boyfriend and I loved it. Only change I made was added a little more Worcestershire sauce and added a teaspoon of brown sugar at the very end. So good, makes a TON and keeps you full. Will definitely be making this again!

Being from the UK Sloppy Joes is not something I have ever had or made. Moved to Canada 5 years ago got married. Motherinlaw does a version but never tried it. Have been trying various recipes here recently and this got the best review from the hubby (better than his Mum's - you cant really get a better review from a husband than that lol). As an aside my sons fave were the buttermilk chocolate chip scones! I don't need the sweetness having never had sweeter ones before. Love the amount of veg in it. DH loved that it didn't just taste of spaghetti sauce. Thanks for the keeper!

I hate recipes that use ketchup or store-bought bbq sauce. Why does everyone want food sweet? This is very much like my recipe. I like to use leftover pulled pork and a lot of hot pepper flakes and/or hot sauce. Leftover chicken shredded is good too!

Where are people finding 1 Points Plus light buns? The lowest I can find is a 2 Points Plus light bun. Perhaps they were 1 Point on the old WW program and are now 2 Points Plus? Looking forward to trying this great recipe!

Where are people finding 1 Points Plus light buns? The lowest I can find is a 2 Points Plus light bun. Perhaps they were 1 Point on the old WW program and are now 2 Points Plus? Looking forward to trying this great recipe!

We have made this a lot. Love it. Before I have always chopped the veggies. Tonight I immersion blended them. Totally changes the dish. . . We also tried adding some mustard powder and a tablespoon or two of BBQ sauce. It is good also. I used 99% lean ground turkey.

The original Rachael Ray sloppy joe that this comes from is by far, my most favorite sloppy joe recipe ever. THANK YOU so much for making it healthier! I loved bulking it up with the veggies, but getting the same great taste. Another winner!

Ok I am new at this calorie counting I didnt have everything listed, I had turkey 85/15% baby carrots probably used 6 to12, apple cidar vinegar, tomato sauce and paste, worcestershire sauce, potabella mushroom, onion and garlic. Would this be close to the same caloies?

Just wonderful! I have not made a recipe from your site that I have not enjoyed! We did make a couple of minor tweeks using turkey, extra veggies, red pepper flakes and a bit of mustard. We will definitely be making this again. I had a hard time not helping myself to seconds!

This recipe is great! I made this last night and the only change I made was I used 1/2 a Vidalia onion vs. a whole onion, mainly because onion causes severe heartburn for my husband. The whole family loved it, even the 5 year old and 2 year old! This is the way I'll be making my sloppy joes from now on, thank you!!!

Made this recipe vegetarian with cooked dry lentils, (from 1 1/2 cup dried lentils). I didn't have steak seasoning, so I made my own using chili powder, paprika, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper. So much deliciousness for so few WW points!!